Even though the word “marketing” is often associated with advertising and promotion, the application of the methods to social non-for-profit causes and programmes has proven to be a helpful tool to enhance the effectiveness of efforts to protect and improve public health. Using social marketing tools to conduct public health improvement programs can help to clarify goals and improve success with limited public health resources.

Health-related social marketing aims at improving people’s health and quality of their life in concrete social, political and economic environment. It requires familiarity with the audience to whom health messages are being addressed, knowledge about relevance and importance of the problem to the target groups, ability of the group to tackle the problem and potential to promote change of an existing situation in a concrete environment.

Understanding social marketing principles and techniques is key to developing public health programs that can promote knowledge or positive behaviours as well as reduce risky ones.